Crosslinking of epoxy resins at room temperature by means of a silicon compound having a basic nitrogen which is bonded to silicon via carbon and to which at least 1 hydrogen atom is bonded directly to the nitrogen has been disclosed, for example, in U. S. Pat. No. 4,413,104 to Deubzer et al. Also, German patent application AS No. 1,125,171 to Griebsch et al, describes silicon compounds containing an SiOC-bonded, basic nitrogen to which at least 1 hydrogen atom is bonded directly thereto as curing agents for epoxy resins, in which the curing takes place by heating.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to prepare crosslinked epoxy resins which are thermally stable, i.e., their surface hardness and mechanical distortion resistance is retained virtually unchanged, even on heating.